Urdomin, also called Urdomina (Lithuanian: Rudamina), is a small settlement located just across the Polish border in the Lithuanian Suvalkija region - between Lazdijai and Kalvarija, in the historic Trakai district. On the edge of the village, a manor house has been preserved, remembering both Stanisław Witkiewicz (1851-1915) - painter, art theoretician, writer, and finally architect, creator of the 'Zakopane style', also known as the 'Witkiewicz style' - and his son Stanisław Ignacy (1885-1939), Witkiewicz, painter, photographer, playwright, philosopher. Stanisław's nephew, Jan Witkiewicz (1881-1958), alias Koszczyc, a recognised architect and conservationist, was born in the manor house.

The owner of the building was Teresa Suchorzewska, née Turczynowicz (widow of General Tadeusz Suchorzewski, 1779-1852, participant in the November Uprising), aunt of Stanisław Witkiewicz's mother (Elwira née Szemioth). Stanisław Witkiewicz stayed at the Urdomin manor with his family in 1869-1873, after his return from exile in Tomsk, Russia. At that time, he painted two oil paintings: 'Dwór w Urdominie' (The Manor House in Urdomino) and 'Oficyna w Urdominie' (The Outhouse in Urdomino), both dated 1873. Stanisław Witkiewicz's mother and siblings were also frequent visitors to the estate in later years. Witkacy also made fleeting visits there during his further trips to Syłgudyszki (to the estate of his aunt Aniela, married Jałowiecka). It is known that the spacious rooms of the manor house were furnished in the Empire style (also known as Napoleonic). The dining room had a large fireplace, while the living room had walls painted by Franciszek (?) Smuglewicz al fresco.

Architecture of the manor house in Urdomin
. The manor house in Urdomin is believed to have been built in the 18th century by the Turczynowicz family. However, the Witkiewicz family account attributes the foundation to the Massalski dukes, the previous (still from the end of the 16th century) owners of Urdomin. The size of the bricks (28-30 × 16 × 8 cm) uncovered in the excavations under the plaster of the walls and visible in the places where it had come loose in the above-ground foundation ring could also attest to the earlier origin of this building with its solid, plaster-covered walls.

Situated on the escarpment, the mansion is a spacious single-storey (approximately 32 × 13 m in plan), basement building with walls with a cornice under the shallow eaves and pilasters at the corners. It has a hipped broken Polish mansard roof, with slopes now covered with sheet metal (once tiled), with three brick chimneys in the ridge.

The triaxial central section of the front elevation has a four-column portico (brick columns, rendered) with a secondary wooden pediment. The front wall of the manor house today has three eight-over-two sash windows (secondary woodwork), placed symmetrically to the central axis. There were probably once eight windows, as evidenced by their positioning and the noticeable bricking up of two of them. The side elevations of the manor house are tri-axial.

The portico conceals the main entrance door to the building, framed by two pairs of semi-columns containing windows between them. Above the door, one can see an interesting identification sign of the former owners of the manor house, made with a painting technique on the plaster. At present, it is a difficult to read, washed-out monogram surrounded by a circular line - the compositionally linked letters "E" and "A", inspiring further historical inquiries and clarifications.

The manor house in Urdomin today
. Abandoned by its owners and used for decades by haphazard residents, the manor house in Urdomino has deteriorated considerably. Today, deserted and still deteriorating, it is waiting to undergo renovation, which was initiated a few years ago by the new owner. At that time, the gable ends of the roof received a new metal sheeting, cavities in the chimney walls were reconstructed, work was undertaken to uncover the paintings on the rear façade of the building, and the areas where the falling plaster had been removed were provisionally secured with mortar. Unfortunately, there has been no further significant conservation work on either the exterior or interior of the building.

Also awaiting revitalisation is the extensive park accompanying the manor house, comprising more than 6 hectares. Unfortunately, the manor outbuilding located in it has disappeared. Once well-kept, with avenues of chestnut trees, noble trees and shrubs, fruit trees and flowerbeds, today it is still neglected, chaotically overgrown with larches, ash trees, maples, spruces and lime trees remaining from the old planting. Also visible are the remains of the pillars of the former entrance gate and the pond located behind the manor house, at the foot of the escarpment. The park was declared a natural monument in 1986.

In conclusion, it is worth recalling the words of Stanisław Witkiewicz, who kept the beauty of this place in his memory for many years. In a letter to his son, Stanisław Ignacy, he wrote the following from Zakopane in 1904: "Urdominy I regret thinking of you. What a landscape paradise it was. What a pity you were not there.